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CONFLICT AND CONQUEST 



AND OTHER POEMS, 



AELLA GREENE, 



Author of "River, Bird and Star,' 
AND "John Peters." 



Published in 1897. 



OCT 21 1897 J 
' TWOC' 






Copyright 1897, 

r,Y 
AELLA GREENE. 



THE COTTAGER COMPANY, PRINTERS, 
ATriOL, MASS. 



In Remembrance of 
Friendships whose Shining has Dispelled 

THE darkness OF MANY A 

CiLooMv Day. 



CONTENTS. 



I 

CONFLICT AND CONQUEST: 

BATTLE AND DEFEAT 
RESCUE 
VICTORY 

MISSION AND OUTLOOK 
II 
FORDING, AND BEYOND: 

"MORNING C;iLDS THE OTHER SIDE' 
THE COUNTRY OF THE GOOD 
THROUGH THE SHADOWS 
INTERCESSION 

III 

LOVE PIECES: 

"COME, HAPPY' BIRD" 

ZEPHYRS 

THE SWEETHEART 

"MAIDEN DISCREET" 

NECrAR 

IV 

SATIRES: 

SOME CRITICS 
IN AMBUSH 
HEART OF ICE 
WILLIAM WILLIAMS 
TOMMY TRIM 



V 

OTHER POEMS: 

''MOST BEAUTIFUL RIVER" 

''BRIGHT ON YOUR NATIVE HILLS" 

"SING, BIRD OF CHEER" 

THE ANTIDOTE 

THE PROBLEM 

THE BRIGHT BELIEF 

"THOU SHALT DISCERN" 

BLESS THY KIND 

DOMINANT 

VICTOR 

ALWAYS WITH THEE 

A ROSE 

THE IDEAL 

INTUITIONS 

THROUGH GRIEF 

BUILDING 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

AT SCHOOL 1 

WARRING I 

OUR FAITH IN MEN I 

MY NATIVE LAND j 

"PRIZE THOU THYSELF" 

"SHE PLACED THE BITTER SWEET" i 

INTO THE SUNSHINE j 

"GOOD BYE, SWEET STARS" ^ 



CONFLICT AND CONQUEST, 
I. 



BATTLE AND DEFEAT. 

TN days when fiends who came to earlh 

For purposes of blood and dearth 
Found those who were alert and brave 
To meet whatever fight they gave, 
The devils, wroth to think it true 
'Twas long since fiends a pilgrim slew, 
In heUish conclave planned to slay 
The mortal first to dare their fray. 
When, soon, insatiate, they, again. 
Should seek and vex the haunts of men. 
And Doubt, the monster known as Fear, 
Sat eminent, and Hate was near, 
With score of impish jealousies. 
And sneaking Slander, versed in lies, 
And Selfishness and Envy came, 
With lesser fiends that have no name. 
And Fear they chose as chief and well 
Attired with mail annealed in hell ! 
They armed him with a heavy blade 
That seemed for some dread business made 
And chains they took with which to bind, 
If so the monster felt inclined, 
The mortal he should give affray 
And torture ere he deigned to slay. 



lO RATTLE AND DEFEAT 

Thus furnished, he was earthward sent ; 
And with him minor demons went, 
The champion fiend to serve and .s^uard. 
That mortals should not press too hard ; 
While Fear, himself, equipped for fight, 
Appeared enough a host to fright. 

When nearing earth the fiends could see 
A man of pilgrim panoply, 
Who upward fared o'er desert strand 
Which downward slopes to demonland. 
Across this desert levered airs 
Alternate sweep with chill despairs. 
Each zephyr trembling with the moan 
Of those the fiends have overthrown. 
And here as long as suits the sprites 
Victorious in their earthly fights 
Their victims writhe in fiercest pains, 
Close kept by fiends upon the plains. 

Meanwhile the demons poise above 
The place where they with pilgrims strjve. 
And taunt them with a fiendish laugh 
And water held too far to quaff. 
They plunge the wretches then below. 



BATTLE AND DEFl_\T 

To drink of an intenser woe 

Within the confines of s yr. 

Of which description is z:: f.:. 

The equal words were so severe 

That even stoics who --.'- 

Thongh gifted with nn- ^ , 

Wuuld shriek and Oliver in affright ! 

How came this man amid the dearth 

Of that wild outward strand of earth. 

Whence came he there, and why, to dwell. 

And dwelt how long, needs not to tell : 

Needs not to name the rates that strove — 

Misfortune if to hi-es: ': ve. 

Or if 'twas ot-t: _: t: : : - r 

^^^lat angel c r. T 7 : f i. 

What airs sal : : -. 

What he: ' : - Z-. 

Whathap;;. : : : ; : ;^y 

Nor whence r/s : i Ir. i : whence his shiei. 

If angels or if men, ar. 

Nor whence the pilgr. - . -~: given, 

Tr.--: seemed of earth wj- 'e. 5ulL of heaven ! 

Some spirit or some bird of song 

He 22.151 have heard, so Inave and strong 



12 BATTLE AND DEFEAT 

Fared he the desert way along. 
If briefest halt he made for rest, 
The faster onward then he pressed, 
Till breezes muttered to his ear 
The hate of fiends approaching near. 
And still the pilgrim kept his way, 
Undaunted by the dawning fray 
That he discovered in their eyes 
Who came his progress to surprise. 
And when the guards began assault 
They paid most dearly for the fault. 
For many imps he conquered soon, 
And others routed till the noon. 
Then on the scene the chief appeared. 
Brandished his blade and loudly jeered. 
Yet he so fenced the blows away 
Whom Fear had thought an easy prey, 
Half down the sky the lustre stood, 
Ere fiendish blade had tasted blood. 
And, with his wound, courageous grew 
The man, the conflict to renew. 
And yet, though well he bore the blows 
The fiend laid on whose fury rose 
Till fiercely glowed his face with rage 
That such brave war the man should wage. 



BATTLE AND DEFEAT 

As o'er the scene the anxious sky 
Noted the passioned hours go by, 
The warrior's surely ebbing might 
Showed he must yield, at last the fight. 
And nature sighed in grief to see 
The fiend was gaining mastery ! 

When sad the sunset closed the day 

That trembled with the mighty fray, 

Deep-hewn by Fear and left in bands, 

To pine upon the desert sands. 

His wounds proclaimed that long and well 

The hero battled here he fell. 

Yet he, though brave, was vanquished still. 

With spirit crushed and broken will, 

And fitting were the sombre skies 

In which it seemed no sun could rise ! 

Responsive to the sufferer's moans. 

The wild waste thrilled with thunder tones ; 

Yet rains blessed not those desert airs — 

There ^re no tears for some despairs ! 

Yet no despairs but timely deed 
Of kindness meets the spirit's need. 



13 



14 RESCUE 

And wakes the bird of hope to sing, 

That earthward calls those swift of wing. 

And, trembling at that song of cheer, 

The victor fiends that hover near 

To taunt persistent every sigh 

That speaks the sufferer's wish to die. 

Aware the song portends at hand 

The powers their might cannot withstand, 

Forget their glee and in affright 

Quick speed them through the murky night ! 



RESCUE. 



A stranger o'er that desert way 

Came where the panting sufferer lay, 
Knelt like a brother at his side 
And tried to staunch the ruddy tide, 
And, ere the wounded man could ask. 
Proffered him water from his flabk. 
The hero drank, his thirst to slake, 
And thus, in heartfelt whispers, spake : 



RESCUE 1 5 

"Grateful that Providence did send, 

I thank thee for thy coming, friend. 

The sentry imps Fear stationed here 

Were quick to flee when cam'st thou near. 

He gat him elsewhere with his blade, 

And must have other havoc made. 

Search that, and give thy blessing there 

Till angels shall relieve thy care. 

And I am safe, since hope doth sing 

That timely aid from heaven shall bring. 

For spoke an angel unto me 

When pined my soul in misery, 

And said if on the upward way 

I met a demon in affray 

And bravely battled in the fight 

The skies would honor me with might 

And send a bird whose tuneful cheer 

The listening angels always hear. 

And hearing, swift and gladly fly 

With blessings from the gracious sky. 

Remembering this, I tried to wage 

The war against the monster's rage !" 

And through that midnight to the plains. 
To oint his wounds and loose his chains. 



1 6 RESCUE 

Whom first a human friend addressed, 
Whom first a human hand had blessed, 
The bright ones of the pitying skies 
Came swift of wing for such emprise, 
And clusters brought from heavenly vine, 
High-cultured for the feasts divine. 
Of these he ate, and peaceful slept. 
The while the angels vigils kept. 
Till flushing bright with rosy flame. 
O'er eastern hills the morning came. 
And Heaven in high approval smiled 
On every feature of the wild ! 
The desert greened to grassy glades. 
Wherein to cadence of cascades. 
By joyous brooks, and blessed with shades. 
That, frequent as the hero's needs. 
Were flecked along the flowery meads. 
His heart harmonious with the day. 
He fared with gladscmeness his way, 
To each entrancing scene and song 
Awake, and yet sustained and strong. 
And not o'ercome by sudden boon. 
That still came not the least too soon — 
Surveying, with emotions due. 
Earth all the same, yet grandly new ! 



VICTORY 1 7 

Yet that bright scene was in the land 
Of barrenness, the desert strand 
That downward slopes unto the dearth 
Upon the arid verge of earth. 
And desert still the place remains, 
And desert all the neighboring plains. 
But there, within that wilderness, 
Where pined the pilgrim in distress, 
A man and angels came to bless. 
So, honored, there, of earth and skies. 
The pilgrim sees through visioned eyes ; 
And unto him the desert seems 
A land of verdure and of streams. 

VICTORY. 

"LJIS struggles gave the pilgrim ken 

Aright to read despairing men ; 
And wishing that they dare to try 
The upward road from misery. 
He sought to lead them from their woes, 
And rash the fiend that dared oppose. 

If any one his course withstood 

He found a blade to drink his blood. 



1 8 VICTORY 

The trusty steel would never fail 
To journey swift through hardest mail 
Which devils wear when earthward sent, 
The hardest which the fiends invent 
Who study long and ponder well 
The ores and alchemies of hell ! 



Once, only once, did Fear essay 

To re-enact the first affray. 

It was one morn when o'er the strand 

The pilgrim upward led a band. 

That he espied his former foe 

Equipped from armories below 

And pos'ng in effrontery 

Where erst he practiced cruelty. 

Though guarded by a retinue 

And dread-inspiring to the view. 

The monster little trembling caused, 

And though the pilgrim briefly paused, 

' fwas but for an assuring word 

That heartened well the band who heard. 

To heaven they sent the sincere prayer 

That ever finds acceptance there. 



VICTORY 19 

Meanwhile their leader forward went, 
To ascertain the fiend's intent, 
And, if his presence warfare meant. 
To trust the skies and do his best 
The monster's boldness to arrest. 
The blade he bore appeared so weak 
A fairy's gentlest touch would break ; 
And still there slumbered in that steel 
The might to make the monster reel, 
Fourfold of what it had the day 
When first it dared a demon's fray. 
The skies impart to every one 
Who have for others bravely done. 

Quadruple power for any fight 

They wage thereafter for the right. 

This well the pilgrim understood ; 

And yet he had no warlike mood. 

Nor thirst for even fiendish blood. 

And meek he seemed, and was, and mild, 

And seemed in prowess but a child. 

But fiends could never read the face 

Aright of excellence and grace. 

And Fear supposed an easy fight 

Would put the man in sorry plight. 



2 VICTORY 

True, he had never yet forgot 
How angels drove him from the spot, 
When erst against the man he fought 
And such terrific havoc wrought ; 
Nor yet forgot the song that brought 
Those angels earthward from the skies 
Before whom every demon flies. 
Cut greed in men or fiends will blind 
And far from caution swerve the mind. 
And hate beyond all other greed 
Will unto wildest ventures lead. 



And, guarded by an impish clan, 
The fiend bore down upon the man. 
Qiiick glowed the pilgrim then with light 
Reflected from his inner might. 
An instant impulse as from heaven 
Inspired the dart the fiend was given, 
A thrust that pierced the demon through 
And sent him howling homeward, long to stay 
And nurse his wounds and curse the day 
He dared this pilgrim to affray. 
The pigmy fiends without their chief, 
'Twas scarce a skirmish and 'twas brief. 



MISSION AND OUTLOOK 21 



To bring the demon dwarfs to grief. 
The pilgrim tossed them on his blade, 
And of the swarm such pastime made 
As left them silent where they fell, 
And called for obsequies in hell, 
When there by other imps were borne 
The forms the hero's steel had torn ! 



MISSION AND OUTLOOK. 

A ND still the pilgrim, wise to cheer. 

And stronger grown by fighting Fear, 
Resorts unto the desert strand 
That borders close on demonland. 
And patient and persistent there. 
To win the saddened from despair, 
He rouses some to make the fight 
Of struggling from their wretched plight. 
But some there are no words can move. 
Though spoken from a heart of love. 
And who would any hopeless lead 
From thence, of gentleness has need, 
So worn are all from grinding cares, 
So faint from starving on despairs. 



2 2 MISSION AND OUTLOOK 

And some of these are grown so weak 

They scarce can think, they cannot speak ; 

So weak they deem soft airs severe 

And tremble if a bird they hear ; 

So weak a shadow's weight would break, 

So weak, who once, perchance, could take 

Herculean blows, unharmed, and bear 

With equipoise a world of care. 

Rebuke the impudence of fate. 

And quench the venomed darts of hate. 

And these the pilgrim reads aright, 

And kens by faith beyond the night 

The summits where the splendors play, 

'I'hat prophesy for them the day. 

And thither, silent all the way. 

Right on he leads, and looks the cheer 

They, looking, beg, but dare not hear. 

But walk they can, for well they know 
They're faring upward from their woe. 
They read it in the matchless grace 
That speaks the leader's noble race, 
They read it in his soldier pace, 
They read it in his radiant face. 
They read it in his hopeful eyes 



MISSION AND OUTLOOK 23 



That shine with joy of victories 
And shed along the starless night 
A lustre more than stellar light. 

And some with speech the pilgrim cheers, 

With reminiscence of the years 

A stranger brightened by a deed 

That met a famished sufferer's need, 

A stranger by a deed of love 

That brought the angels from above, 

A man he had not seen before, 

A man whom here he saw no more, 

A stranger since ascended where 

The best of bright fruitions are ! 

And others as he fares along 

The pilgrim heartens with the song 

That, caroled by the joyous bird. 

The wild waste and the midnight heard 

When once upon that desert way 

He met a fiend in an affray 

That saddened and that shook a day ! 

If some must halt for sleep, their rest 
He sentinels and then with zest 



24 MISSION AND OUTLOOK 

He leads them to the mountain top 
Resplendent with the morn of hope. 
His chivalry the rescued learn, 
And with the like emotions burn, 
And with him to the plains return, 
And others lead unto the heights. 
To taste of hope's supreme dehghts. 

O ! lovely hills where Edens are 
Without a flaming sword to bar ! 
Bright summits where from dawn to star 
And from the star to dawn again, 
Angels descend to talk with men. 
And this their message from the skies. 
Faith ever true, Doubt always lies ! 

And ere they spread the heavenward wing 
They wake their golden harps and sing 
The song that charmed the pilgrim's grief 
And summoned them to give reHef. 
And this refrain thrills through the song, 
Faith always right, Doubt always wrong ! 

There, on the heights, the champion stands. 
The love and wonder of the bands 



MISSION AND ()UTI,OOK 25 

He rescued from their foes and chains 
And led o'er demon-haunted plains 
Unto the hills above the airs 
That sweep the region of despairs. 
And there, with vision to discern 
Where heaven's eternal glories burn, 
He sees translated to his rest. 
Crowned in the country of the blest. 
Rejoicing with the sons of light, 
The one who cheered his desert night ! 

And, hark ! what minstrelsy inspires I 
Ay ! wafted from celestial choirs. 
The very song that charmed the plains 
When angels came to loose his chains ! 
They careful conned the harmonies 
To aid the anthems of the skies ! 
And now the song which then was given 
Is chanted as a hymn of heaven ! 
Harmonious with the rhythmic spheres 
And cadence of eternal years ! 



FORDING AND BEYOND. 
II. 



"MORNING GILDS THE OTHER SIDE.' 

(^ONSTANT over death's dark river 

Shine the lustrous stars of love ; 
And, to cheer the good man, hover 

Angels missioned from above. 
Faith reveals to hirii the glories 

Of a land beyond the tide ; 
Though there's darkness on the river, 

Morning gilds the other side ! 

Earth to him is but a province 

Of a better land that lies 
Out beyond the hidden boundary 

Of this scene of mysteries. 
Angels call him, and no demons 

Come to taunt with evil done. 
Or, insatiate in their hatred. 

Paint a heaven he might have won. 

Fearful still to ford the river ! 

Seem the dark waves mountain high. 
For, whatever visions promise, 

Yet to die, is still to die ! 



30 "morning gilds the other side" 

Dreaded journey ! none escape it ; 

All must go, and go one way, 
Sometime go, and soon that sometime, 

None prevent it, none delay. 

And that way is through the river 

Where no morning ever shone ; 
And the pilgrim that way faring 

Goes at midnight, goes alone ! 
Be it at the break of morning, 

Seems it in a starless night ; 
Be it in the gladsome summer, 

Seems it in November's blight. 

Be it when by friends surrounded. 

Powerless now is friendship's hand ; 
Faith inspirits, yet in going 

Fares he to an unknown land. 
Oiher torrents he has forded 

In his travel hitherto. 
Streams so deep, and swift, and wrathful. 

Only brave men ven^.ure through. 

Rugged steeps his courage clambered. 
Deserts knew his blistered feet. 



''MORNING CILDS 1 HE OTHER SIDE" 3 1 

P'ound he thornfield, flint and quicksand, 

Adverse winds and biting sleet ! 
Now he nears the final river, 

Airs grow dense, and damp, and chili; 
Birds once vanguard here turn backward, 

He must onward, onward still ! 

On he fares — and why his calmness 

As the shadows round him close? 
Why invincible his courage 

To the waters that oppose? 
There's a hope that sings within him 

Of a land beyond the tide — 
Though there's darkness on the river. 

Morning gilds the other side ! 

Morn of brightness ! morn of gladness ! 

Morn of full revealing why 
All the hardness of the journey 

To the country of the sky ! 
Land of morning, sweetened, brightened, 

Land of morning grown to noon. 
Land of springtime grown to summer — 

Land of everlasting June ! 



32 "MORNING GILDS THE OTHER SIDK' 

Mountains welcome home the good man, 

Rivers give him greeting there, 
And the trees of life invite him 

To abundant fruitage fair. 
And beyond the opening glories 

Other, grander, summits rise, 
Heights that hint yet broader vastness. 

Drinking joy of lovelier skies. 

Here on earth the roses wither, 

But they ever bloom above ; 
And forever there the lilies 

Breathe the sweetness of their love ! 
In the forest aisles of heaven 

Birds, and brooks, and zephyrs sing 
Of the beauty and the grandeur 

Of the country of the King. 

And His angels there rejoicing 

So attune their hearts to song 

That the hills and forests vibrate 
With the tide that thrills along. 

And the music of the numbers 
Of the minstrelsy on high 



] 

\ 

"MORNING GILDS THE OTHER SIDE" 33 i 

Shall intensify and sweeten i 

Through the ages of the sky ! I 

And from some bright summit yonder 

Where eternal splendors glow, ' 

Shall the good man view the region i 

Of his struggles here below ! i 

O ! the retrospect from heaven \ 

That awaits the glorified, ] 

Where, beyond death's darkened river, { 

Morning gilds the other side ! I 

And there'll be reunions yonder \ 

Of those death has sundered here ; ] 

There again the light of faces ; 

That so many smiles endear ! J 

And the well-remembered voices ', 

That entranced the other days ; 

Shall be sweet in reminiscence \ 

Of the old familiar ways. < 

Voices have new charms in heaven, j 

But they still remain the same — 
Sweeter, dearer, for transition '■ 



34 "MORNING GILDS THE OTHER SIDE 

From the life from which they came — 
Yet enchanting with the accents 

That delighted days gone by 
And gave omen, thus, aforetime. 

Of their cadences on high. 

Faces there will be remembered 

By the features known before, 
More of spirit there revealing. 

Radiant on the heavenly shore. 
Yet the same familiar faces 

By the earthly memories dear — 
Faces known and loved up yonder 

For the smiles they gave us here ! 

Constant over death's dark river 

Shine the lustrous stars of love. 
And to cheer the good man hover 

x\ngels missioned from above ! 
Fares he onward and emerges 

From the darkness and the tide, 
Where, beyond the shadowy river. 

Morning gilds the other side ! 



THE COUNTRY OF THE GOOD. 



r^ VE pilgrims through this province 

To the kingdom of the Lord, 
Fear not, though there is a river 

That your way worn feet must ford. 
O ye pilgrims, dare those waters ! 

Journey bravely through the flood, 
For the trial of that fording 

Is the last one for the go 3d ! 

O award, pilgrims, though before you 

Flows the chilling tide of death ; 
For beyond it is the country 

Of eternal bloom and breath ! 
Fear not, pilgrims, onward bravely, 

Onward through the icy flood, 
For beyond that final fording 

Is the country of the good ! 



And the Mighty will be with you, 

To uphold you with His arm ; 
And no wave shall overwhelm you. 



36 THE COUNTRY OF THE GOOD 

Nor shall evil spirits harm. 
And the angels will be waiting 

To receive you from the flood 
To the bliss of heavenly morning 

In the country of the good ! 

There are youth and growth in heaven, 

Youth grown wise and age grown young ; 
There the crowns rewarding crosses, 

There the sweet from bitter wrung ; 
There companionship of spirits. 

There the bliss of solitude ; 
O ! the joy of even thinking 

Of the country of the good ! 

And the joys of heaven shall heighten 

All the shining ages through ; 
Friends to friends will there be loyal. 

Souls to souls will there be true ; 
For, O bliss beyond description ! 

Souls by souls are understood 
In the land beyond the fording, 

In the country of the good. 



THROUCiH THE SHADOWS. 

T^HERE'S no sun to cheer the valley 
Where death's chilling waters flow; 
And of coast and clime beyond it 

Those on this side do not know. 

Birds sing not above those waters ; 

There mysterious ravens chant, 
Giving earth nor name nor inkling 

Of the land beyond their haunt. 

Nothing grows by that cold river ; 

And grew lily there or thorn, 
Would it hint of what is yonder — 

Boon or ban, or murk or morn ? 

Yet must all go through that darkness, 
Lighted by no cheering beam, 

Through the waters and the shadows 
That o'erhang the chilling stream. 

For no bridge o'erspans that river, 
Nor can mortals sail the wave ; 

Nor can science guide the farer. 
Or enhearten to be brave. 



38 



INTERCESSION 



Nor can reason give the pilgrim 

Boatman, compass or a barque ; 

Yet by faith he gains the daring 
For the torrent and the dark. 

Faith inspirits him with visions 
Of the heaven of his quest, 

Of the land beyond the shadows, 
Of the country of the blest. 

And right onward to that heaven, 

Onward through the chilUng stream. 

Gladly, calmly, fares the pilgrim, 

Couraged by faith's cheering beam, 

Onward to eternal splendors 

Where majestic mountains rise 

In the radiance of the sunshine 
Of the country of the skies. 



INTERCESSION. 

CAINTS in heaven are ever praying 
For the souls that struggle here, 



INTERCESSION 39 



And the Father makes them answer 
That He holds His children dear, 

That He pities them and tempers 
For them all their varied woes, 

That for them His gracious spirit 
Through creation flows. 

Helping wearied ones to carry 

That which burdeneth the heart 
And inspiriting the nerveless 

To enact the hero's part 
And to gain, in fray appointed 

Unto all to meet in life. 
Wisdom, equipoise and prowess 

Equal to the strife. 

Saints in heaven are ever praying 

For the souls on earth who sigh ; 
And to answer them the Father 

Bids His swiftest angels fly 
Unto earth to seek the saddened, 

Not, perchance, to give relief, 
But to strengthen them to conquer 

Cruel fiends of grief. 



40 



INTERCESSION 



Glad the angels earthward hasten ! 

Thrill the spiritless with might, 
Till those timid at the outset 

Put their furious foes to flight, 
And enhearten so their comrades 

Unto valor in the fray 
That what seemed foredoomed disaster 

Crowns with joy the day ! 

O, ye saints in heaven praying. 

High example have ye there ! 
For the Christ who in the Garden 

Poured his passioned soul in prayer 
And, amid the darkness dying 

That his enemies might live, 
With his latest breath entreated 

Heaven to forgive. 

Now above is interceding 

For the souls of earth who sigh — 
There in heaven, though high exalted 

And the ruler of the sky. 
There in heaven the Christ is praying 

For the souls that struggle here; 



INTERCESSION 4I 



And for Him the Father holdeth 
All His children dear. 

And for Him the angels hasten 

Bringing blessings here below ; 
And because of Him who suffered 

Temper they each earthly woe. 
Saints of earth and saints translated, 

Sing, O sing, the glorious worth 
Of the Sovereign of heaven, 

Of the Lord of earth. 



LOVE PIECES. 
III. 



"COME, HAPPY BIRD." 

r"*OME, happy bird of sweetest note, 

Blithe bird of brightest wing, 
Of one who close resembles thee 
Thy choicest matin sing. 

She charms her home, as thou thy bower. 
With liquid warblings sweet. 

And marks each hour with words sincere 
And winsome ways discreet. 

Sing, bird, so bravely and so well 
That one who seeks her hand 

Shall be inspired to speak and act 
The bravest in the land. 

For only thus shall he attain 

To favor in her eyes, 
Who but withholds, that he may win, 

What he esteems a prize ; 

While hers is modest estimate 
Of worth she may possess. 

As thine, sweet warbler, of thy songs. 
His listening ears that bless. 



46 ZEPHYRS 

Come, happy bird ot sweetest note, 
Blithe bird of brightest wing. 

Of one who close resembles thee 
Thy choicest matin sing ! 



ZEPHYRS. 

A/^E zephyrs, bring the odors sweet 
That on your fragrant way ye meet. 

Where all the rarest blooms combine 
To make the air so near divine 

It seems as if to earth were given 
The flavors of the hills of heaven ! 

But can ye tell her breath who came 
To wake his heart to purest flame 

That ever burned in Valor's breast 
When fortune smiled upon his quest? 

Her words were music, ways were grace, 
And calm on that expressive face 



THE SWEETHEART 47 

There glowed the hope of summer skies ; 
While in the glancing of those eyes, 

Which heralded intensest kiss 
That ever warmed a heart to bliss, 

A spirit shone that would inspire 
The gods to their divinest fire ! 

Ye airs excelling any word 
That earth or Eden ever heard ; 

Ye zephyrs chanting numbers high, 
To challenge harpers of the sky 

Till they attempt sublimest song 

That ever thrilled the heavenly throng — 

Nor ye, nor they, can sing above 
The music of that wondrous love ! 

THE SWEETHEART. 

CO bold, should one of you accuse 

That some sweet girl inspires my muse, 
To all the rest it would be news, 
But not to me. 



48 ''MAIDEN DlSCREtT" 

The maiden never tells the fact 
By any word or any act, 
Evincing such consummate tact 
To keep it hid, 

She is not reckoned on the list 
Of those who try to "keep it whist," 
And in the search she might assist 
And none surmise 

There was a reason for the zest 
Wherewith she aided in the quest 
To which the searchers had addressed 
Their skill in vain. 

Keeping the secret a little more, 
We twain, as others have before. 
Will seek the parson's friendly door, 
And tell it there. 



''MAIDEN DISCREET." 

TV/TAIDEN discreet, I give thee praise 
For words select and comely ways. 



NECTAIl 49 

And wish thee many joyous days, 
And worthy friends. 

May Honor win, by grand address, 
The bUssful good of thy caress. 
And True Love come, thy heart to bless. 
And Hope to cheer. 

For all like thee discreetly kind 
May every cloud be silver-lined ; 
For them be thornless roses twined, 
And evergreen. 



NECTAR. I 

•nPHE fools may laugh, the prudish quaff ] 

Their cups of pale cold mist, \ 

And seem content with no more meant \ 

Than if two icebergs kissed 1 J 

i 

Whoever thinks when Ellen drinks i 

Her joy from Ronald's lips, ) 

There's aught but love — that one above, j 

At feasts where Juno sips i 



50 NECTAR 

The nectar high that cheers the sky 

To its intensest glow, 
Would deem such fire a dark desire 

And think the airs that blow 

From paradise bring ill device, 

i\nd kiss by angel given 
Was wandering worse than that whose curse 

Sent Lucifer from heaven ! 

The fools may laugh, the prudish quaff 

Chill vapor of the morn, 
Affecting stress of righteousness 

Which doth affection scorn — 

Whoever thinks when Ronald drinks 

The joy by Ellen given 
It is not well, would find it hell 

If he should get to heaven ! 



SATIRES. 
IV. 



SOME CRITICS. 

^HE wicked wish some critics have, 

And knack and greed, to kill. 
They think high evidence of taste 
And proof of master skill. 

To them all writers ; re at fault, 

The finest paintings stuff. 
And singers at their best too cheap 

To honor with rebuff ! 

Yet may not pen, and brush, and harp 
Still claim attention where 

These critics should, of course, receive 
By far the greatest share ! 

For were there none to paint or sing, 
Or write in verse or prose, 

What such as they would find to do 
Is more than mortal knows. 

They might ascend the upper spheres, 

To criticise the stars 
And teach good manners and good sense 

To Jupiter and Mars, 



54 



SOME CRITICS 



Then clip away old Saturn's rings 

And set him bounds to run, 
Or venture near the sohr fires 

To regul.ite the sun ! 

And should they reach the better land, 

They would not blush to tell 
The angels how to tune their harps 

To sing hosannas well ; 

Nor for their colors to rebuke 

The alchemists of heaven, 
Nor fail to painters there to say 

How poorly they had striven 

In limning landscapes that entranced 

Apollo and his host. 
While heavenly choirs from hymni ~g turned, 

To wonder and to boast ! 

These critics would condemn the style 
In which the saints are dressed, 

Insist on changes to improve 
The mansions of the blest. 



IN AMBUSH 55 

And, raw recruits from earth, presume 

To dictate, there, on high, 
The way archangels ought to wheel 

The armies of the sky, 

And think themselves; empowered to lead 

The squadrons sent afar 
To subjugate rebellious worlds 

Or win a wayward star ! 

With coolness they descant upon 

The highest works of man. 
And were creation built anew 

On a sublimer plan, 

They yet would think the universe. 

Was theirs to criticise. 
And would not fail to carp against 

The reconstructed skies ! 

IN AMBUSH. 

T^HOUGH poisoned word be never heard. 

To voice the base designing 
Ye contemphte on those ye hate. 

The thought does the maligning : 



56 IN AMBUSH 

'Tis ever true, sin colors through 

And outward shows the staining 

Of sin within, where sins begin ; 

And, slanderous words restraining. 

If ye nurse aught of slanderous thought, 
That thought the victim curses ; 

He vilifies by face and eyes, 

The evil thought who nurses. 

His fellow-man he giveth ban 

Who casts the look suspicious ; 

And if he praise, the cautious phrase, 
Rose-scented and judicious, 

BeUttles worse than open curse 

Of enemy malignant ; 
And in his eyes are wily lies, 

Although he beam benignant. 

These shall he send, to vex and rend 
The one his shrewdness blesses ; 

They schooled the while to watch his smile, 
And kill whom he caresses. 



HEART OP^ ICE. 

VY/ITHOUT, circumspect and sternly correct, 

With character showing not any defect, 
Thy coldness within, no luring can win ; 
Pulseless, and therefore not given to sin ! 
Thou passionless one, what rivers can run 
Where coldness turns backward the rays of the 

sun? 
From sinning though free, what credit to thee ? 
So frigid art thou the tempter would flee, 
Or, cold with concern, to ice-pillar turn 
Where fiercest the fervors of hades should burn ! 

With forcefullest will, and busied to kill 

The joy and the sweetness of others, until, 

A-tremble with dread, around thee they tread. 

With only the life to wish they were dead ! 

But cometh a day of contrasts that may 

Melt all thy cold virtues to nothing away. 

This warning dost spurn? — its truth thou shalt 

learn 
Where fiercer the fervors of hades shall burn 
Than primal design of fiat divine — 
For hell would be chilled with a presence like 

thine ! 



WILLIAM WILLIAMS. 

AA/HEN William Williims walks abroad 

He trips along so proud, 
And steps so dainty on the street 

Rude people laugh aloud. 

These lines expressive of regret 

That they should think to scorn 

The man for whom the earth was made 
And stars the skies adorn ! 

For whom the summer solstice burns ; 

For whom the winter's cold, 
The verdure of the pleasant spring, 

And autumn's red and gold ! 

A man of ancient family, 

Whom heraldry correct 
Points backward to a crown and throne. 

Through ancestry direct ! 

And, still, when Williams walks abroad 

He has a gait so proud, 
And steps so dainty on the street. 

The rude will laugh aloud ! 



w^ 



TOMxMV TRIM. 

^HEX Tommy Trim at morning takes 
The pleasant train for town, 
He wears the kids and hat correct, 
To match his whiskers brown. 

And through the coaches every one, 

With equipoise of stride, 
He walks, to throw from gorgeous eyes. 

Alternate to each side. 

The glance benignant that shall cheer 

Those waiting till he bless 
The hearts that thrill with agony 

For his high graciousness ! 

Ah, Tommy Trim ! remember well, 

The years will quickly Hy 
And kids will fade and time will dim 

The lustre of the eye ! 

And other ones with lovelier face 

And tuft of finer brown 
Will smile, to win rewarding smiles 

From those who ride to town ; 



6o TOMMY TRIM 

And none recall, dear Tommy Trim, 
The matchless orbs of thine. 

That beamed to cheer the other days 
With radiance benign ! 



OTHER POEMS, 
V. 



MOST Bb:AUriFUL RIVER.' 



lyrOST beautiful river of all that have sung 

Since music aforetime in Eden was young, 
Thy waters, though charming, have cadence of 

grief, 
And, chanting of trouble that finds no relief, 
Speak under the joy of the notes of the song, 
That somewhere the key-note of being is wrong. 
That somewhere far back in the course of the 

flight 
Of things which the First Cause designed to go 

right. 
Some tired of their orbit and went from the way. 
Persisting thenceforward still farther to stray. 
Till, stranded in wandering and dark with the 

gloom 
Of the wreck of the wayward, they shook with 

their doom ! 

Thou river that singest the joy of a chme 
Of Eden-like sweetness of earlier time, 
Thou river that singest the first bliss of man, 
Tiiat blessing was only precursor of ban ! 



64 ''MOST BEAUTIFUL RIVER" 

And driven from Eden and vagrant o'er earth, 
Man, sighing for solace and seeking for worth, 
Found little good fruitage, but vastness of dearth. 
Blight found he for wheat-fields, and crows for 

the corn. 
Found frost blasting roses but pointing the thorn. 
In all fields found nightshade, or thistles, or tares. 
In all paths found pitfalls, or quicksand, or snares, 
Found fevers in cold airs and fevers in heats. 
Found poisons in acids and poisons in sweets ! 
Found scarcely a gold grain, found little but 

dross. 
Found life full of struggle, disaster and loss ! 

O, tell me, bright river, O, hear the complaint 
That tortures the ages and notes their attaint, 
That gives them no day-dawn, but deepens their 

gloom, 
O, tell me, bright river, the cause of the doom ! 
What is it that burdens and worries in spite 
Of solace of song of the rivers that quite 
Would antidote seem in their charm of delight 
For deepest and harshest and darkest of ban 
That fiends could invent for the torture of man? 



"MOST P.EAUTirUL RIVER" 65 

And singest thou, river, 'tis Sin that has done 
The mischief, the havoc wrought under the sun? 
Then tell me, bright river, for rivers must know 
That sing of the unseen as onward they flow, 
O, tell me why Sin and its consequent woe — 
Why Sin after rightness and woe after bliss ? 
O, why, after Eden, misfortune like this, 
That worries and saddens the men of the earth 
And burns out its best fields to deserts of dearth? 
Since blessing beforehand but deepens the curse. 
Since sweet before bitter makes bitter the worse, 
O, tell me, bright river, O, tell me, I pray. 
If night was to be, O, why was there day ? 
O, tell me, bright waters, if tell me ye can, 
O, why was there Eden as prelude to ban ? 

And sayest thou, river, that evil was given 
To teach earth, by contrast, the value of heaven? 
To warn man and spur him away from the bad, 
And teach him through sadness, the way to be 

glad? 
And if it was discipUne meant by this grief, 
O, why not some angel to teach such belief? 
To sing unto earth that the thought in all this 



66 "MOST BEAUTIFUL RIVER" 

Was only to heighten the chances for bliss? 
That, covert in curses, hid blessings were given 
To aid in the quest and the climbing for heaven? 

And singest thou, river, of One who was sent 
To tell what this sadness and mystery meant. 
To lead man away from the cause of his woes 
And aid him to conquer the ills that oppose ? 
The ban had so blinded that only in years 
Could any be won from the cause of their tears. 

Yet why this repining, O river of song ? 
Wrong cannot be righted by naming it wrong. 
If problem it once was why man at the first 
Was kept from the reason why he had been?. 

cursed. 
At last by his troubles well visioned is he ; 
Misfortune has schooled him until he can see 
The reason his day into darkness was turned ; 
Disaster has disciplined till he has learned. 
That blessing is baneful unless it is earned. 
That bitter beforehand but sweetens the cup, 
When valiant the brave man drinks bitterness up,. 
That doubt when well mastered is loyal to hope. 



"HRKIFIT ON YOUR NATIVE HILI.S" 67 

That torture if conquered equips for emprise, 
And hell if subjected gives road to the skies ! 

Then carol, ye waters, as glad as ye can ; 
O, sing of the Eden that was before ban, 
Ere man had been tempted to wander away 
Or night came at morning, to darken his day ! 
Ere thistles outgrew the best blossoms of earth 
And rich meads were turned into deserts of 

dearth ! 
And sing, O ye waters, as glad as ye can. 
That those who learn well in the school of this ban 
Shall somewhere out yonder find Eden for man, 
With streams even sweeter than rivers that sung 
Entrancing that Eden where music was young ! 



"BRIGHT ON YOUR NATIVE HILLS." 

IDRIGHT on your native hills 
The sun benignant beams, 
Perennial down the pleasant slopes 

Still sing the happy streams, 
Which feed yon river's tide that flows 



68 "SING, BIRD OF CHEER" 

In beauty through the vale ; 
Transparent, purling brooks 

Which sing of springs that never fail ; 
And grand the mountains stand, as erst 

When there your kindred dwelt, 
And fresh the mountain winds as airs 

Their fields and forests felt. 

And ye remain to keep their homes, 

And guard the noble name 
Earned by their share of those grand deeds 

That give New England fame. 
Shines their example, still, as bright 

As beams the golden sun ; 
Flows still their influence as pure 

As mountain waters run. 
So cherish ye the fame they gained, 

And emulate their worth, 
Your names, when ye are gone, shall live, 

Perennial in the earth ! 

''SING, BIRD OF CHEER." 

V\/HILE cheering light 
Of morning bright 



"SING, KiKl) OF CIIIiER" 69 



(v'cr eastern height is glowing, 

And choicest flowers 

In any bowers 
Or any landscape growing, 

I'heir sweets exhale, 

To fill the gale 
Soft on the valley blowing, 

Thou sweetest bird 

Mine ears have heard, 
\Vhose liquid music, flowing, 

Hath magic charms 

'i'o still alarms. 
The sweetest peace bestowing, 

On fleetest wing 

Hy thou and sing. 
To cheer a brave heart bearing 

A load of grief 

Beyond belief, 
Iieyond an angel's daring ; 

Though worn and faint, 

Giving no plaint. 
But brave on life's road faring ; 
Through griefs, discreet, 



yo ''SING, BIRD ( F CHEER 

With spirit sweet, 
Well worth an nngel's sharing. 

Sing, bird ( f cheer, 

So he shall hear 
Above earth's loudest blaring. 

And sing again 

To cheer him, when 
Noon's fervid heats are burning ; 

Assure him well 

That thou wilt tell, 
Ere next the noon's returning, 

In thy best tune. 

That some sweet boon 
Shall soothe the plaintive yearning 

Of his sad heart, 

As he, the art 
Of grand endurance learning. 

Seeks only joy 

Which doth net cloy. 
All vain enjoyment spurning. 

Then, sweetest bird 
Mine ears have heard, 



THE ANTIDOIE 7 I 

When sunset's wealth is streiming, 

In western skies, 

To glad the eyes 
And set the spirit dreaming 

Oflndofold 

And towers of gold 
With heavenly splendors beaming, 

Sing once again. 

And tell him when, 
Thy pledge in triuh redeen^ing,' 

Thou bringest joy, 

It shall not cloy 
Nor be less than its seeming ! 

THE antidotp:. 

XTXPECT to give the doubting faith ? 
As well to give the lungless breath ! 
As well to give the eyeless ken, 
Or reason unto mindless men. 
O ye of earth whom angels tell 
The precious art of keeping well, 
O ye above, whom stars and sky 
Have taught the alchemies on high, 



72 THE PROBLEM 

And unto whom the power is given 
To study trees and blooms of heaven 
And learn what essences have they 
That ills of mortals will allay 
And send these qualities in dews 
That shall their potencies infuse 
In herbage here for man to use, 
To aid him to regain the wealth, 
The boon, the blessing of his health— 
Ye sapient ones of earth and sky, 
If here 'tis known, or if on high. 
The antidote for doubt declare. 
The medicine to cure despair ! 



^i'HE PROBLEM. 

T_j ERE wailing a moment, then struggling a day,. 
Not wishing the contest but forced to the fray^ 
Man dying of combating ills of this life 
Or dying of joy of achieving the strife. 
Leaves here where he struggled some ounces of 

clay. 
While all that informed it is wafted away — 



TJIK JJKIGH'l' ISELIEF 



73 



A ghost gone to some land, and what Lind who 

knows ? 
With spirits congenial, or those who are foes? 
Where bleak over wide wastes blow chill damps of 

death ? 
Or where from fierce furnaces hate's heated 

breath? 
Where skies shed the sweetness and brightness of 

heaven? 
Or where o'er the concave grim war clouds are 

driven ? 
O I wherefore begun life? and what is its end? 
^^'hence came it ? what means it ? and whereto the 

trend ? 



THE BRIGHl' BELIEF. 

TF, sore discouraged and distressed. 

With sorrows and with cares oppressed, 
And sins confessed, and unconfessed. 
And every ill, 



The heart were struggling for relief, 



74 THE BRIGHT BELIEF 

And found no succor from its grief, 
In buoyant trust, and bright belief, — 
How sad the earth ! 

But rules reverse of these obtain, 
Nor mortal suifered yet in vain, 
A trivial, nor the largest pain, 
Nor ever will. 

So let the troubled take new heart, 
Learn well of suffering the art, 
Nor shun to share a generous part 
In life's good griefs ! 

For none hath God the tender care 
He ever shows for those who bear 
Of life's worst woes abundant share, 
Enduring well. 

O ! ever blessed bright belief ! 
That joy which cometh after grief. 
Is sweetest joy, and is not brief. 
Like other joys ! 

Inspiring, grand, and true, the thought, 
That bliss by bitter trials bought. 



"THOU SHALT DISCEItN" 75 



Is nearer unto heaven than aught 
On earth beside. 

And theie, beyond thine earihly ban, 
The wisdom of His rounded plan 
Who ordereth the ways of man 
Shall be made plain ; 

And ihou shalt know thy Father spoke, 
When fates thy noblest planning broke 
And gave to thee a cross and yoke — 
That prove thy crown ! 



THOU SHALT DISCERN." 



"TJESPITE the darkness and the din, 
And all the tendencies to sin 
Thou findest here, 

Earth is the place and now the time, 
To win the boon of happy chime 
For that Beyond, 



76 BLESS THY KIND 

Where, if thou rightly livest here, 
Thou shalt discern, with vision clear, 
The meaning high 

Of all the mysteries of earth, 
And find those things had real worth 
That useless seemed, 

And, grateful, thank the Eternal Mind, 
That He, the Infinite, the Kind, 
Hith planned it all ! 

BLESS THY KIND. 

r^ BLESS thy kind, and unto thee 
Shall angels chant the minstrelsy 

Far sweeter than the singing heard 
From any brook or any bird 

In happiest glen of all the world, 

x-\nd sweeter than the brooks that purled 

In Eden when the earth was young 
And all the stars together sung ! 



liLKSS TIIV KIM) 77 

And dost thou doubt, and point to men 
Who bless and are not blessed again, 

But live in grief, and grieving die 
Of much bestowing charity? — 

Perhaps not here, yet in some clime, 
Perhaps not now, yet some good time 

Of God's sure years, shall greet the eye 
That moistens here with sympathy. 

Scenes bright as those the seer of eld 
F^ntranced on Patmos isle beheld. 

When full the radiant glories shone 
f>om gates, and temple, and the Throne 1 

And grander shall the music be 
Of that good time than minstrelsy 

Of Eden when the earth was young 
And all the stars together sung. 



w 



DOMINANT. 

HEN, dominant by warring well 
And in the fight grown strong, 
The soul reigns o'er the outer self 
That held it subject long. 

With power and poise there's vision given 

To see what meaneih life. 
And, in the triumph gained, to read 

The reason for the strife. 

Then bright on life's dark mystery 

The stars of promise rise. 
To glow until fruition's day 

Shall break along the skies ! 

Forever lustrous are those stars. 
That mortals may discern ; 

Yet only visioned souls can see 
Their constant glories burn ! 

Fight on, O man, until thy soul 
Full visioned is, and strong, 

And regnant o'er the outer self 
That held it subject long. 



VICTOR. 

AV/'HEN woes are more than words can tell 

Or human bravery bear, 
O Thou who doest all things well, 

Inspire till through Thy care 

The soul those griefs shall dominate 

And, by the trial strong, 
Envoke from dissonance of fate 

The melody of song, 

And excellence of vigor gain 

To meet what ills oppose, 
And fortitude to suffer pain 

Till bliss from anguish grows. 

And springs within the purpose high 

Of that true graciousness 
Which quickly hears if sorrow cry 

And hastens forth to bless. 

When woes are more than words can tell 

Or human bravery bear. 
The soul, O Lord, endures them well 

That hath Thy gracious care. 



ALWAYS WITH THEE. 

IN sunny days of childhood playing, 

When life was all one scene of Maying, 
And thou hadst not a thought of straying, 
God blessed thee then. 

Forgiving all thy youthful sinning. 
He helped thee to a manly winning 
Good triumphs o'er a bad beginning. 
And helps thee still. 

That, in the strife which ceaseth never. 
Demanding watch and warring ever. 
Thou do, by manliest endeavor, 
The victor be. 



A ROSE. 

"DEYOND the single rose he sought. 

She piled the offering high 
Of lily, pink and jessamine 
And larkspurs of the sky. 



THE IDEAL 8 1 



Until the gift, full antidote 

For all his grief and strife, 

Led him to bless, with what she gave. 
Another troubled life- 

And words for his bestowment said 

Were finer fragrance far 
Than concentrated odors breathed 

From all the lilies are. 

Ah, lady, acts like thine shall bloom 

In choicest beauty where 
The sweetness from the heavenly plains 

Perfumes the sentient air. 



T> EDUCP^ to fact your fancy. 

Nor tarry till you do 
Make real the ideal 

That God has given you. 

Most real the ideal, 

Least fact what most call fact 
And of ideal most real, 

Ideal in an act. 



THE IDEAL. i 

I 



INTUITIONS. 

"Pollow thine intuitions, 

They always lead thee right ; 
In all of thine ambitions 
Obey the inner light. 

Whatever to thy vision 

Seems duty, bravely do, 

Albeit fierce derision 

The doing leads thee througl 

And when of ease Elysian 
Appears alluring view, 

Then quick to the monition 

Thouhear'st within be true. 

Intensify decision 

To follow still the right ; 
And onward to thy mission, 

With vigilance and might. 

Thus heeded, intuitions 

Shall ever lead thee right — 
To crowns for the ambitions 

True to the inner light. 



THROUGH GRIEF. 

r\ GIVEN by fiends the gall to drink, 

And sweeter grown for all they send , 
A kind and watchful Providence 

Will soon proclaim the ordeal's end ; 
Vet call thee not from earth above, 

But ask thee, wearied one, take rest ; 
And that thy restless eyes may close, 

Command that, from the roseate west, 
Angels reposeful influence sweet 

Pour forth, to give thy spirit calm, 
And others send, on zephyrs borne, 

To suothe thy troubled heart with balm. 

Angelic ones shall sentinel 

Thy rest, anl fragrance waft till day, 
Shall brightly break and bid ihee, glad, 

Thy grateful orisons to pay ; 
Refreshed, inhale the ambrosial air 

And walk beneath a happy sky, 
Inspired, by carol of the birds 

And songs of brooks that murmur by, 
With faith that Heaven will bless thy days, 

Each westering sun bring peaceful sleep, 



84 BUILDING \ 

I 

\ 
1 

And every morn new evidence 1 

That angels tender watch-care keep ! i 

Heroic sufferer, who hast borne 

The burden of a broken heart, i 
Patiently, artlessly, and yet 

With all the dignity of art, i 

While so intent to bless the world j 

None knew what woes thine own heart had — 1 

Deep, bitter griefs, which, told above, j 

Would make the heavenly singers sad, — ) 

Soon shalt thou learn the gracious truth, .: 

Through griefs and cares, which here annoy. 

Heaven builds the path by which thy feet '. 

Shall reich the highest hills of joy ! 1 

BUILDING. 

V\/HEN some kind voice tells thee plainly j 

Of new building for thine hand ; \ 

And thou findest hindrance mainly I 

In the strangeness of command i 

Calling thee from routine labor 3 

In the wonted, humble, sphere, • 



I'.L'ILDING 85 

And thcju fear'st from foe or neighbor 
An unkind or jealous sneer ; 

Do not for such hindrance smother 

That sweet voice that speaks within ; 

Thuu mayst find the foe turn brother, 
If thou manfully begin, 

And continue bravely doing, 

Work the angel bids thee do ; 
And, each day the work renewing, 

Thou shalt find it ever new. 

It shall charm like high romances, 

Gemming legends of old days ; 
And, beyond thy farthest fancies. 

O'er wide plains, by untrod ways. 

Paths unknown to other leaders. 

Angel guide shall lead thee sure. 
For the gold and goo Uy cedars 

Which shall evermore endure. 

In the ti )wers of consummation 

That shall mirk thy work complete. 



86 BUILDING 

And call forth the world's laudation, 

Which thy shrinking ears shall greet. 

Fear not but for all these praises 

That (lood Power shall well prepare, 

Who hath life in all its phases 
Under His benignant care. 

For, by thorns and frequent crosses, 
Which thy heart shall fully test, 

Sad reverses and sore losses. 

If His wisdom thinketh best, 

Unto meekness He will hold thee, 

Still commanding thee, be brave. 

And obey injunctions told thee 
By the angel that He gave. 

And this angel shall sustain thee. 
Be the work or long or hard ; 

And the future shall explain thee. 
All that did thy work retard 

Was designed to bid thee stronger 

Make the building of thine hand, 

Which, than time's duration longer. 
Through eternity, shall stand. 



acknowlkd(;kmen'i\ 

A CCEP'1\ selectest man I know, 

Who met my sadder years, 
And all immindful of thy griefs 

Wast mindful of my tears. 
Whose kindness when but few were kind 

And noble gentleness 
Wc-ntso inspiring and so grand 

And royally did bless, 

Accept the gratitude, too small. 

My heart would offer thee 
For thine example and thine aid 

So freely granted me — 
The heartiest words and kindest deeds 

Wisely, but freely, given. 
Imparting to my bitterest hours 

A foretaste of my heaven 1 

Once, scorned by those whom I had blessed. 

And doubted for my trust. 
My pleasant plans were broken all, 

My hopes were in the dust. 
Then thou didst cheer me— blessed hour I 



AT SCHOOL 



And sacred be the spot, 
When those ignoble men are both 
P'orgiven and forgot ! 

AT SCHOOL. 

A FFLICTION is the school wherein 

Gnins character new power, 
And excellence, by fighting sin, 
Wins an abundant dower. 



WARRING. 

A^HO wars for right, hope well befits ; 

To him the stars are true ; 
For him there's always Austerlitz, 

And never Waterloo ! 

OUR FAFFH IN MEN. 

^NNOBLTNG is our faith in men ; 

It lifts us from the du^t, 
And what we trust a man to be, 
We make the man we trust. 



MY NATIVE LAND. 

/^OD bless the land where I was born 

And played a happy child, 
Ere yet I saw a southern swamp 
Or roiimed a western wild, 

And where, within the glens among 

The Massachusetts hills, 
My early being was attuned 

By cadence of the rills. 

O 1 could I be forgiven, did 
My heirt not turn to thee 

With gratitude and pride, dear land, 
For all thou art to me ? 

Thine atmosphere and scenery, 
Thy present and thy past. 

Thy people and their freedom's wealth, 
To last while time shall last. 

And all along the coming years, 
Where'er my pathway lies. 

Whatever lot is meted out. 

Or kind or cold my skies, 



90 ''PRIZE THOU thyself" 

Still, evermore, my song, at home, 
Or on a foreign strand. 

Through Hfe and at the closing hour, 
God bless my native land ! 

And if the Powers above shall grant 
The boon of heavenly rest, 

'Twill sweeten even that to know 
My native land is blessed. 



"PRIZE THOU THYSELF." 

r^ BLEST with innocence and health, 

'And wisdom far above thy years, 
Who hast not felt heart-rending griefs. 

Nor wept the bitter, scalding ten rs, — 

Exquisite maiden, whose bright ways 

Are pride of her who thee did bear. 

And who, these years, with tender hand. 
Hath nurtured thee with fondest care. 

Prize thou thyself, thy kindred prize, 
Thy home and all its quiet joys ; 



'*SHE FI.ACKD THK P.I'ITER-SWEET" 9 1 

And keep thee, much as in thee lies, 
From earth's frivohty and noise. 

Cherish the gift of thy good sense, 

And do thou bravely live and keep 

Thy soul from all that causes shame 

And makes the watching angels weep ! 

For thee, God grant the kindest skies, 
For thee, sincerest, noblest friends ; 

For thee, all earth's substantial good. 

And heaven, when earth's ordeal ends. 

For him whose worth deserves thy heart, 

And whose brave ways thy heart shall win, 

May brightest stars benignant beam, 
For him, and all his noble kin. 

O, blest with innocence and health, 
And wisdom far above thy years. 

Thy heart be long unknown to grief. 

And long thine eyes unknown to tears ! 

"SHE PLACED THE BITTER-SWEET." 

'T^O girlhood's home returning, 
She placed the bitter-sweet 



92 



INTO THE SUNSHINE 



Within the ancient mansion, 

Where sunbeams shadows meet ; 

And there declared : "Henceforward 

Be kindness all my theme ; 
With constant hand dispensing. 

The moments to redeem ; 

"Teaching, if I have suffered, 
I would the world be blest ; 

Praying, if I have struggled, 
The weary have good rest. 

"I thank Thee, Heavenly Father — 
My name Thou hast kept sweet, 

And through these bitter trials, 
Hast kept my ways discreet." 

To girlhood's home returning, 
She placed the bitter-sweet 

Within the ancient mansion. 

Where sunbeams shadows meet. 

INTO THE SUNSHINE. 

^WAY from doubts that chill and blight. 

Into the joy of faith's clear light. 
Away from doubts that chill and blight ! 



INTO THE SUNSHINE 93 



Come to the sunshine bruiging bloom- 
For the rose there's always room ; 
Come to the sunshine bringing bloom. 

Into the sunshine of belief 

Lead thou the stricken sons of grief, 

Into the sunshine of belief; 

Into the sunshine, with a song, 

To cheer their faltering steps along ; 

Into the sunshine with a song. 

Give them the sunshine of your trust ; 
If they have joy you surely must 
Bestow the sunshine of your trust. 

Live in the sunshine while you live, 
And unto all your sunshine give ; 
Live in the sunshine while you live. 

And then beyond the stars and sun, 
Shalt thou with all thy toiling done, 
In some good land beyond the sun, 



94 



"GOOD-BYE, SWEET STAPS" 



Beyond the doubts that chill and blight, 

Abide in the unceasing light, 

Beyond the doubts that chill and bhght ! 



''GOOD-BYE, SWEET STARS. 

C WEET stars, what high delight 

Is vigil in the night 
Your lustre maketh bright. 
But now a hand unbars 
The morn — good-bye, sweet stars. 
Good-bye — nay, linger still ; 
Shed ye your radiance till 
Once more I drink your glow ; 
Then stars, ye sweet stars, go, 
If go, sweet stars, ye must ; 
And, bright, sweet stars, I trust 
Your vows to come again ; 
And then, dear stars, and then ! 
Bat now a hand unbars 
The morn — good-bye, sweet stars 1 
Yet, stay, for stars are given 
To ken the truths of heaven — 



'c;0(Jl)-HVE, SWEET S PARS" 95 



O stay, and teach that good, 

That high beatitude, 

The best of all belief, 

That joy succeeds to grief. 

O best of all good gain. 

The bliss that grows from pain — 

Possession come from loss, 

And crown that follows cross ! 

Despair ! endeavor, hope 1 

The slough — the heavenly cope ! 

When all the skies are dark, 
And there's no glory spark 
To gem the firmament 
And hint of Heaven's intent 
Of blessing unto man. 
Nor shadow forth the plan — 
M'he spirit can discern 
Your stellar fervors burn. 
In proof that still above 
Presides the Heavenly Love. 

And, now, sweet stars, a hand 
As by magician's wand 



96 ''GOOD-BYE, SWEET STARS 

The gates of morn unbars ! 

Good-bye, sweet stars, sweet stars ! 

Ye go, and I may rest. 

With dreamless slumber blest, 

A few brief hours of morn. 

And then, where flowers adorn 

The meadows and the hills, 

I'll join the birds and rills, 

To sing, ye stars, your praise — 

Accept, ye, then, the lays. 

For ye can hear, I ween, 

And see, when all unseen 

And all unheard — when day 

Hath sent ye far away. 

And when again ye shine. 

Teach me the hand divine 

That now the morn unbars — 

Good-bye, sweet stars, sweet stars ! 










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